[Chorus: Katy Perry]
You gotta take the highs with the lows
Sometimes it's just how it goes
And when you're down to nothing at all
It's always predictable
Postpone your broken dreams
While flipping through the pages of a magazine
You gotta take the highs with the lows

[Verse 1: Mickey Avalon]
Preacher McGrath was always eager to ask
Why his mother rubbed her hands beneath his pants at mass
And if he missed a prayer he best beware her wrath
'Cause moms would whip his ass to keep him on the path
To the son and the father plus the holy ghost
Run for cover or she bust his nose
Behind closed doors he dressed in hooker's clothes
And shoot [?] on his catechism, listen close
One day he got married to a bird named Persephone
Who died giving birth to his only child Stephanie
Whose destiny was flawed, undeserved
Because God made her father a filthy perv

[Chorus: Katy Perry]
You gotta take the highs with the lows
Sometimes it's just how it goes
And when you're down to nothing at all
It's always predictable
Postpone your broken dreams
While flipping through the pages of a magazine
You gotta take the highs with the lows
[Verse 2: Mickey Avalon]
Little Steph used to be so innocent
Now she never slept from all the crystal meth
Her papa was a preacher so she knew the good book
And when he tucked her into bed, he fondled the nook
But baby look good in the Honda Accord
With the chest pressed up against the dashboard
A pocket full of cash and a bottle of coors
Rev the throttle, hit the gas and nash on the floor
Toward the end of the night Steph would go to score
And when the dealer dished it out she hit him up for more
A bag of skittle for the baby while Steph gets crazy
From a shot to the neck, hot, wet and hazy
Lady of the Eve maybe she'd be in better health
If her father learned to keep his hands to himself

[Chorus: Katy Perry]
You gotta take the highs with the lows
Sometimes it's just how it goes
And when you're down to nothing at all
It's always predictable
Postpone your broken dreams
While flipping through the pages of a magazine
You gotta take the highs with the lows

[Verse 3: Mickey Avalon]
Norm was born to Stephanie in '73
He became a therapist, real swift with the ladies
As a baby he was brought to cop with moms
He got his face filled with candy while she marked her arms
A long shot from the start, but the kid was smart
He would hit the books while the others hit the yard
He started breaking hearts back in Junior High
'Cause Norm could stop 'em dead in their tracks with his eyes
Fiercely piercing past their thighs and into the stars
Hello, goodbye
College was a breeze, got As and Bs
And never even missed a single party
He opened up his practice in the deep, deep South
And helped damaged debutantes ease their woes on his couch
[Chorus: Katy Perry]
You gotta take the highs with the lows
Sometimes it's just how it goes
And when you're down to nothing at all
It's always predictable
Postpone your broken dreams
While flipping through the pages of a magazine
You gotta take the highs with the lows